Rating:  - Useful reference, but lots of errors
While this book did help me to study for the exam, I've never read any computer book with so many errors.
For example:
- pieces of text copied & pasted from other chapters, then forgetting to change the text
- Wrong headings, e.g. Chapter 9 Table 9-1 and Table 9-2 are both "ConfigurationManager Properties and Methods"
- Bad sample code (e.g. variable declared but not used)
- Bad information, e.g. Chapter 5 (Serialization), section "How to Control SOAP Serialization" is wrong: The SOAP serialization attributes (Table 5-1) applies to the XmlSerializer, not the SoapFormatter being discussed.
- Wrong usage in samples, e.g. chapter 10, lesson 1: EventLog.CreateEventSource overload used in sample deprecated, lesson 2: author claims you need a DefaultTraceListener for Debugger.Log, and lots of other cases.
- Unnecessary "cute" personal stories, e.g: "Practically every application I have ever developed has used collections extensively. For example, I have used collections to store lists of e-mail messages that I am ready to process in an e-mail system I wrote some years ago". Some years ago? No recent development? "The generic LinkedList class is a type of collection that is new to .NET, though the concept is well worn and tested. In fact, I remember writing a LinkedList in college". Not necessary to tell the readers you've never written a linked list in the real world.
I found Chapter 9 (Installing and Configuring Applications) particularly bad in terms of the usefulness of the content. The topic isn't that difficult, but the samples just don't demonstrate the ideas very well.
The typos etc are acceptable, but when it appears that the authors know less about programming than the reader, then it creates a really bad impression for Microsoft Press.
I'm sorry I didn't rather wait for Amit Kalani's book instead.
Rating:  - 70-536 Exam Prep
Good book. Gives us a good overview of various topics covered in the exam. Has a few errors. But, we could figure it out. It comes with 300 exam practice questions, answers and links to MSDN. If you cover all the topics in the book, and go through the MSDN links provided in the CD, it will help us give a good shot at the exam. I used this book and transcender practice test. I passed the exam in my first attempt. The MCTS exam is tough. That makes it covetable.
RJ
Rating: - Great as a book not just a study guide
Places where this book is "weak" is where YOU as a reader need to learn how to use MSDN and look it up yourself. The point of the book is to quickly run you through what is going to be covered on the test... NOT to give you a hand holding through the numerous topics covered in a short amount of pages. Yes theres chapters that could use elaboration for me personally... but this book's job is not to go indepth, that is the point of the MANY other books referred to by the microsoft learning site. Each test has requisite books and then a training kit book. If you didn't read the whole C# or VB language book before you read this, then you can't complain when it doesn't hold your hand.
edit: having now passed the 70-536 on my first try, even though i put this book down for several months and picked it back up again is a testament to how good it does it's job. So long as YOU, the reader, do all of the examples, lookup each object on msdn and thoroughly research them, and run through the practice tests and study tests multiple times.
Rating: - Certain chapters need to be completely rewritten
Avoid this book unless you are prepared to spend 10 times more time on certain chapters than is warranted. It's not the case that the book would be OK if the known errata were corrected; certain chapters have many more errors and faults, and need complete rewriting by someone other than the original author.
The publisher needs to issue a 2nd edition of this book with the following chapters completely rewritten: 9, 10, 11, 13, and probably 16. If these chapters aren't rewritten, when another publisher with proper quality control provides an alternative, that should be used instead of this book.
For example, code listings are presented to demonstrate COM interop, but there are no paragraphs explaining the code, and there are no comments in those code listings. It takes an inordinately long time to make sense of these chapters, due to the dense errors and lack of actual explanation.
Rating: - 70-536 Exam Prep
The book has quite a few mistakes (not just the usual typo). Entire chapters are, lets say more or less either copied from the help with no additional insight or otherwise lack additional value. The included tests are faulty. The coverage of test questions is only "garanteed" by the provided practice tests, NOT the book itself.
I still think it is a good starting point to get an impression of what the actual test might require. OTOH just following the test related table of contents (70-536), reading the help and trying everything yourself + purchase of practice tests would most likely be better (something you'll have to do in any case since the book does have quite a few white holes AND you can't rely on the answers provided by the practice tests).
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